Hero rescues Brighton man from fire as fire crews struggle to reach blaze

WITH VIDEO: A passer-by has been hailed a hero for smashing a garden gate to rescue a man stuck next to his burning home in Brighton this morning.

The man ran to the back garden gate off Cobden Street at about 8.30am after hearing the resident screaming for help.

He broke down the gate, and brought the man to safety. But meanwhile, firefighters were struggling to get to the fire at the house in Luther Mews between Elm Grove and Islingword Road because of the “horrendous” parking.

The man was treated for burns and smoke inhalation, and the cause of the fire is now under investigation. Fire crews are expected to be at the scene until about midday.

Another passer-by, who witnessed the rescue, said: “I could see this house was totally on fire, every single window was gone and the flames were 50 or 60ft in the air.

“The resident was trapped and couldn’t get out of the back garden and the bystander had to kick the gate in to get the resident out. He was in quite a bad way.

“If the bystander hadn’t broken the gate, he would have died without a doubt, it was a really bad fire and the garden was small.

“He’s a hero – he risked his own life to do it because it was such an intense fire. There’s about eight crews up there now.

“The fire brigade had real problems in finding where the blaze was as it was down a twitten. The parking is just horrendous round there, there’s so many cars crammed in there all together.”

The parking claim was also made by several people on an online community noticeboard this morning. Kim Jayne Webb, posting on the Hanover Community Noticeboard on Facebook, said: “The fire engine can’t get down because of the cars.”

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service also sent the aerial ladder platform from Preston Circus in Brighton to the scene.

The fire service received several 999 calls within minutes of each other just after 8.30am.

The fire service said that the blaze had been put out and that everything was under control by 10am although crews are expected to stay on the scene until about lunchtime.

An investigation will aim to find out how the fire started.

The end of the mews was evacuated as what appeared to be a kitchen fire took hold and badly damaged the back of the property.

The fire service has had problems reaching other properties in the narrow streets of Hanover and said: “We have been looking at the possibility of smaller fire engines for some time.”